The models, which had to be redesigned or substantially updated, were selected by a group of 49 automotive journalists from Canada and the United States. The winners will be announced on January 14th at the North American International Auto Show.

Finalists For North American Car Of The Year And North American Truck/Utility Of The Year Announced

DETROIT, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of 49 automotive journalists from Canada and the United States has selected the Cadillac ATS, the Ford Fusion and the Honda Accord as the finalists for the 2013 North American Car of the Year.

The Ford C-Max, Mazda CX-5 and Ram 1500 are the finalists for the 2013 North American Truck/Utility of the Year.

This year, to reflect the growing numbers of crossover vehicles in the North American market, jurors voted to change the name of North American Truck of the Year to North American Truck/Utility of the Year.

The six finalists were announced today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit.

This is the 20th year of the awards, which are unique in the United States because — instead of being given by a single media outlet — they are awarded by a coalition of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada representing magazines, television, radio, newspapers and websites.

The awards are financed by the jurors' dues and the organization does not accept advertising or fees from automakers.

To be eligible, a vehicle must be all new or substantially changed. After considering dozens of vehicles this year, the jurors finally narrowed the field to the 11 cars and 10 trucks on which they voted.

The jurors voted early in December, sending their ballots directly to Deloitte & Touche in Detroit.

Today Diane DeFrancis, a partner at Deloitte & Touche, provided envelopes with the names of the finalists – in alphabetical order - to Lindsay Brooke, a member of the awards' organizing committee, who made the announcement.

This begins a second round of voting on the three car and three truck/utility finalists. Those ballots also go to Deloitte.

The winners will be announced at a news conference on Monday, January 14 th at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

While the news conference has always been held at the North American International Auto Show, the show does not give the awards.

Here are the vehicles on which the jurors voted:

North American Car of the Year

BMW 3 Series

Cadillac ATS

Chevrolet Malibu

Dodge Dart

Ford Fusion

Honda Accord

Lincoln MKZ

Nissan Altima

Scion FR-S

Subaru BRZ

Toyota Avalon

North American Truck/Utility of the Year:

Acura RDX

Audi allroad

BMW X1

Ford C-Max

Ford Escape

Hyundai Santa Fe

Infiniti JX 35

Mazda CX-5

Nissan Pathfinder

Ram 1500

This is the 20th year of the awards. During the past 19 years:

* Domestic automakers have won North American Car of the Year ten times. European automakers have won four times. Japanese automakers have won three times. A Korean automaker – Hyundai - has won twice.

* Domestic automakers have won North American Truck of the Year 12 times. Japanese automakers have won four times. European automakers have won three times. (The name of the award to North American Truck/Utility of the Year has been changed starting with the 2013 award.)

Last year's winners were the Hyundai Elantra and the Range Rover Evoque.